Fire Emblem really took off in the west this decade as it was relatively unknown for the first 20 years of the franchise existence over in the west. Than they brought over Marth and Roy to meele, brought in Ike to brawl and gave FE a much bigger role in the game (FE themed stage, a lot of music, FE themed area in sub-space). Also helps that Marth was a top tier character.

So I hear a lot that there inclusion in Smash Bros lead to the rise of the franchise in the West, but I can't tell if that is an exaggeration, or simply a myth. A lot of people say the series really took off with Awakening which I believe was released in 2012, many years after Brawl and before Smash 4.

So I am curious to hear if there is a strong correlation, AND if there is not one why did the franchise suddenly take off?